News Broadcasting
Youngsters don’t use condoms despite their safety: MTV sexual behaviour study
MUMBAI: In conjunction with the Aids epidemic update issued by Unaids and the World Health Organisation, MTV Networks International has released findings from the Staying Alive 2003 Global Sexual Behaviour Study.
The most startling findings indicate that while young people know that condoms can help prevent HIV/Aids, they are not using them the majority of the time they have sex. The survey found respondents fully understand (over 90 per cent) that using a condom will decrease the risk of getting HIV/Aids.
They also agree that it is a big deal to have sex occasionally without a condom, especially if you have various sexual partners. However, far less are actually following through: only half of the respondents used a condom the first time they had sex, and more than 70 per cent of the respondents who had more than one sexual partner in the past six months did not always use a condom.
An official release informs that the study has been posted on 20 MTV Web sites worldwide, in 14 different languages. It had over 9000 respondents in 29 countries including Africa, Asia Pacific, Europe, North America, Latin America and Russia. The survey indicates sexual behaviour trends among 14-34 year-olds around HIV/AIDS, including condom use, stigma and discrimination, trusted sources of information and sexual history. The study was conducted in collaboration with research partners Online Testing Exchange (OTX) and Ciao AG.
In terms of the media, 60 per cent of those surveyed look to the media as a trustworthy source of information, as well as rely on the media (excluding radio and Internet) to educate them about HIV/aids. On an average 43 per cent of the respondents considered their parents a trustworthy source of information regarding HIV/Aids but only 29 per cent of respondents actually felt that they learned from their parents.
Condoms were found to be the most preferred method of protection against HIV/AIDS (56 per cent), followed by being faithful to one partner (32 per cent) and practicing abstinence (12 per cent).The noticeable difference across markets was in the US, where the majority of non-sexually active respondents selected abstinence as their preferred method of protection (71 per cent).
On an encouraging note many of the stereotypes have been discredited. Respondents do not believe that Aids is a homosexual disease (97 per cent), or that sex with a virgin can cure AIDS (95 per cent), or that only drug addicts get Aids (97 per cent).
News Broadcasting
News TV viewership jumps 33 per cent as West Asia war draws audiences
BARC Week 8 data shows news share rising to 8 per cent despite T20 World Cup
NEW DELHI:Â Even as individual television news channel ratings remain under a temporary pause, the genre itself is seeing a clear surge in audience attention.
According to the latest data from Broadcast Audience Research Council India, television news recorded a 33 per cent jump in genre share in Week 8 of 2026, covering February 28 to March 6.
The news genre accounted for 8 per cent of total television viewership during the week, up from 6 per cent the previous week. The spike in attention coincided with escalating geopolitical tensions involving the United States, Israel and Iran, which have kept global headlines firmly fixed on West Asia.
The rise is notable because it came at a time when cricket was dominating television screens. The high-stakes stages of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup, including the Super 8 fixtures and semi-finals, were being broadcast during the same period.
Despite the cricket frenzy, viewers appeared to be toggling between sport and global affairs, boosting the overall share of news programming.
The surge in genre share comes even as the government has enforced a one-month pause on publishing ratings for individual news channels. The move followed regulatory scrutiny of the television ratings ecosystem.
While channel-level rankings remain temporarily out of sight, the genre-level data suggests that when global tensions escalate, audiences continue to turn to television news for real-time updates.
